Environmental permit

For certain renovations or changes to your building, an environmental permit is required.

The more radical the change, the more extensive (and more complicated) the conditions for granting a permit will be.

Which actions require an environmental permit?

Article 2.1 of the General Provisions on Environmental Law Act contains a list of actions for which an environmental permit is required. Examples of such actions are work in violation of the zoning plan, the construction of a structure or certain demolition work. These days it can be checked in advance whether a permit is required for your building plans. You can check your municipality’s policy on permits on the basis of your data via the environment counter.

License application

When you subsequently submit an (environmental) permit application, the municipality will assess your application against the Building Decree, the applicable Zoning Plan, the relationship between your property and that of your neighbours, as well as other regulations and welfare requirements.

In principle, the municipality must take a decision on your permit application within eight weeks. This period can be extended once by six weeks. Interested parties may object to the decision on your application. In the event of a rejection, you can lodge an objection as an interested party. Note that also in the case of a decision in your favour, your neighbours as interested parties have the right to object. The process can become further complicated and dragged out if you or your neighbours submit expert reports, or if the municipality changes their opinion halfway through the application. It is therefore important to properly chart the process from the outset, to estimate risks and to prepare.

More information

GMW lawyers will be happy to help you with all your administrative law issues. If you have any questions, please contact us directly using the enquiry form below or +31 (0)70 3615048. Our administrative law lawyers will be glad to support and advise you.

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